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Whimsical quilts

I am catching up on my humidicrib quilts. I have sewn quilt tops for June and July. By next month, I might be up-to-date or even ahead of my self-imposed schedule.

I have been planning to sew the castle pattern by Blossom Heart Quilts for a while. The hardest part was choosing fabrics from my stash. I knew I wanted to fussy cut from the Aneela Hoey print for the windows and use the fairy-tale text print for the roofs, but finding three colours that toned well and were not covered in overpowering spots, stripes or flowers, taking away from the castle effect, was almost impossible in my stash. It almost ended up as a green castle, but some recent purchases opened up a whole world of aqua and teal. I had wanted to use a cute cloud or rain print in the background, but it meant I lost contrast and definition between sky and castle; the whole quilt started to blend into the same sorts of tones, so I scrapped that plan.

The humidicrib quilts I donate to the hospital must be a certain size: 16 x 24 inches. To make the 18 x 24 inch pattern fit, I printed the pattern at 90 per cent and added a little extra fabric to the top.

This fairy-tale castle pattern is by Blossom Heart Quilts.

When I saw the Fat Quarter Shop had released a free panda mini quilt pattern, I knew it had to be on the humidicrib list. Here, to make the 15 x 16 inch base block work, I sewed more bamboo. Pandas eat a lot of bamboo so they can never have too much.

As much as I love Gnome Angel’s Pandy Warhol concept, my interpretation had to be black and white in honour of Big Ted, my first teddy bear, given to me the day I was born. Big Ted might make an appearance in a later photo-shoot when I finish the quilt.

I had space to fill, so I added more bamboo. Pandas eat a lot of bamboo.

I still have to quilt them, but that can wait until August. I might put my darning foot on and quilt a few tiny quilts in a row. This decision has nothing to do with the fact that I am doing dry July (no alcohol for a month) and have in the past suspected that my free-motion quilting improves after a glass of wine. Or I notice the mistakes less. One of the two.

For a few days before I tidied it all away and mailed the bee blocks off, my design wall was a fun place filled with rabbits, birds, pandas and a castle.

I wonder if that’s my problem with FMQ… But I don’t think I want to do FMQ enough to come off the painkillers, so I’ll just have to stay dry and do straight line quilting! Love the castle – is that aqua spot from Spotlight? If so, I love it, and am hoarding a chunk of it for some as yet unforeseen project. I just can’t bring myself to go and buy a proper amount of yardage of it when I still have so much surplus (gasp, did I really say that?) fabric.

I cannot remember where the spot is from, but it probably wasn’t Spotlight. I buy thread and all sorts of bits from them but rarely quilting fabric. There are lots of similar dots. I do so love a good dot.

The hospital here asks for 16 x 14 inches for its covers, but it might vary from hospital to hospital. Check near you. I am sure that there is a group that will take whatever you feel like making – for premature babies, foster kids …

I had a giant panda bear when I was little too – it was given to me by my grandfather and i remember it vividly. It was made of straw and didn’t survive the years. I’m putting both of these on my to do list – maybe as fun floor cushions.

Love the castle and the panda. Both are perfect for humidicrib quilts. I had to laugh at “Dry July” – I’m currently on “Dry 6 months” due to medication I’m taking for my inner ear disorder. It never occurred to me that maybe my FMQing would be smoother after a glass of wine. Once I’m allowed to partake again, I’ll definitely have to test that theory.